Floating
by WriteThisLife
Summary: It's funny that when people have feelings, they tend to shy away from them...But a very Wotter holiday is about to change things around for Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy.


She was floating. Standing five feet across from him, she could see the specks of silver when the sunlight caught his grey eyes as they waited at the Transfiguration classroom door. He was speaking to her, and part of his words were making their way slowly into her mind, while the latter swooped down like butterflies to her stomach before settling somewhere, tingling, around her toes.

Rose was floating.

"What d'you say?" Scorpius was looking at her expectantly.

Rose blinked once. "Erm-?" She gave a millisecond of a questioning glance, but he got it. He always did; he could read her like a book ever since the very first day on the train-the very first time both of them knew that they weren't as dissimilar as they had been told. They had found out that they didn't have to be mortal enemies.

Chuckling, Scorpius' eyes flicked back and forth between Rose's eyes before repeating, "Homework in the kitchens tonight? I hear they've made too many of the raspberry scones again."

Immediately, she smiled widely; she couldn't help it. Not when her very best friend was giving her what she considered to be the very best plan at the very best study spot in the castle. Before Rose had even said anything, he grinned reciprocally.

"Of course," she exclaimed, and the Transfiguration doors opened. As they walked in, they saw that the blackboard was positively dripping with notes about theories and incantations.

"Best get there early, Rose. Merlin knows we'll need the time." Scorpius smiled before heading to his seat. And so Rose floated some more.

Scorpius didn't understand what made him so crazily mad about this girl. Also known as his very best friend. Also known as the girl whose extended family was capable of making his life miserable at any misstep of his.

Nothing made sense to him anymore; nothing seemed real. Everything was monotony, and that was why it was _nothing_.

But when Rose was around, Scorpius was floating. He was thousands of kilometers above the Earth with no chance of coming back down.

Until they were walking back. "You know, Scorpius," she began, "we've been friends for years now. Best friends."

"Best friends," Scorpius agreed. Memories of nightly homework sessions sprinkled with laughter to last a lifetime came flooding back to him.

Rose paused in the middle of the corridor and turned to face him as he slowly came to a stop.

She looked at him calculatingly, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Come over for the holiday."

"What?" he choked out blankly. Now he had come crashing down to a screeching halt onto solid ground.

"You heard me, Scorpius."

He had, but he had little capacity to think as a blind panic seized him. Yeah, he was on good terms with most of Rose's cousins, and had Albus Potter as another best mate.

But holiday? With...the adults?

"Pretty sure your parents and aunts and uncles will hate me," he offered matter-of-factly. It was true.

Rose shook her head. "I don't think so."

"But I _know_ so."

She fixed him with a steely glare. "If I thought that you would have a _seriously_ unpleasant time at my grandmum's house, why would I even invite you?" Rose paused. "I like you, Scorpius. When I like something, my family does too by association."

Scorpius stared into her eyes. They were blue-amazingly blue. Piercingly so. If diamonds and the sky could mix together to form a color, this was it. "Fine. I'll think about it."

As she turned to the left to head to the Gryffindor tower, he called to her, "But only because I like you."

Were her ears turning red? Scorpius couldn't tell; he was back up in midair after hearing her last words.

This was it. He has _had_ it.

Fuming, Scorpius strode briskly down the corridor, clenching his right fist around his wand. It was the night before the Charms exam, but that didn't stop him from talking to his anally academic best mate.

"Albus. Albus. Albus. Albus." Scorpius repeated this chant where he found the said Potter in the stacks in the library, snoring with his head on top of a Charms textbook. Scorpius chose to document the drool rolling off of Al's chin with a quick image spell for future blackmail.

Just in case.

"Wha-oh, bugger," Al murmured groggily. He sent Scorpius a death glare as he righted himself into a sitting position, grumbling. "What could be so incredibly important that you had to wake me up amidst my studying?"

Scorpius eyed the now drying puddle of drool on chapter twenty of the Charms textbook pointedly.

Albus caught this and rolled his eyes. "Sod off."

"Not a chance. Besides, I _do_ have something important to, erm, discuss with you, Al."

"And what may that be, pray tell?" Albus sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"The nonsensical shit you've been telling Rose!"

Al spluttered incomprehensibly for a moment before exclaiming, "What-the truth?!"

At this, Scorpius threw his arms into the air, but this only propelled Albus to go further. Scorpius slumped down into a chair. "You _have_ been avoiding her. You _have_ been interrogating every other Wotter in Hogwarts about our aunts and uncles. And," he continued, as Scorpius engulfed his burning face in his hands, "this is all because you're being a ninny."

Scorpius glared at his best mate through his thumb and index finger.

"Yes, Scorp, a ninny. Ninny, synonyms: a fool. Simpleton. Twit. Nincompoop. Birdbr-"

"Albus!" Scorpius exclaimed, jumping out of the chair. He faced Albus head on, staring at him in annoyance. "You can't even blame me for doing this. I mean-I mean how else am I supposed to survive the holiday?"

"By not worrying about it," Albus said bluntly. "You shouldn't have to because you _don't_ have to. D'you think that my family is still trapped in the archaic mindset of 'Slytherins equal murderers?'"

Scorpius just looked at him.

Albus' eyes widened in shock. "No, Scorp! The answer is no!"

Scorpius closed his eyes and shook his head before saying, "I just lose all sense of mind when it comes to R-" He cut himself off.

Shit. He hadn't told Albus about how he felt about Rose...and he intended to keep it that way, for the foreseeable future.

His best mate's chuckle drew him out of his temporary panic. "Sorry, sorry-what was that, hmm?" Albus asked, struggling to maintain a serious face. "'When it comes to'..." He trilled his _r_ 's. "Rain? Rascals? Rainbows? Ramen? Rotisserie chicken? Roadtracks? Razzers? Rabbits-?"

"ROSE!" Scorpius yelled out before realizing what he had done. It felt as though his heart had jumped to his throat; his heart was floating, and so was he. Damn that Rose.

Turning, he saw Albus' face light up with glee.

"Took you bloody long enough to tell me, mate! Merlin, you're far gone for her, aren't you?" Albus smiled and clapped Scorpius on the shoulder before looking concerned. "Cor, you looking like you're going to puke. Hospital Wing?"

Barely able to speak, a slightly greenish Scorpius nodded and choked out, "Hospital Wing."

A rush of green flames whirled around a frenzied Scorpius before a new vision greeted his eyes. It was a very homey living room, quaintly small but with a warmth and glow that was always absent from Malfoy Manor. It was beautiful. Scorpius swept his gaze around, drinking in the impressive lights and fairies flying around. A brightly colored something caught his eye by the Christmas tree.

Not a thing, a person. It was Rose. Her auburn hair fell in waves across her back, which was turned to him.

Scorpius stepped out of the fireplace as gracefully as he could, but ended up tripping slightly on the worn rug beneath his feet. The small scuffling sound caused Rose to turn around, meeting his gaze. She was holding a Christmas tree ornament, and the light reflected off of it and onto her face, making her glow and look even lovelier than usual.

Rose smiled and began walking toward him. He realized he had started walking toward her as well, and they met halfway.

Still grinning, Rose looked at him full-on. "Scorpius."

Scorpius just became conscious of the effort of pulling his lips into a beaming smile. "Rose."

He kept staring at her and watched a blush slowly blossom onto her cheeks. "You know, you look really lovely," he offered. Where did that come from?

Right, right. Albus' tips for not throwing up and/or being stupid in front of attractive women.

Rose pursed her lips into a smile before replying, "Does that mean you like me or something?"

Surprised, Scorpius' smile wavered for a moment. This had not come up in Albus' lessons. Shit. "Ah-erm-uh-err-"

Rose let out a ringing laugh. "Scorpius Malfoy, you are absurd if you haven't guessed how I feel about you yet." She raised a brow.

Scorpius cocked his head questioningly. "I…" She stared at him, deadpan.

"AH! Okay. I'm just going to say something to get it over with and whatnot." The words spilled out of Scorpius' mouth as he stared to the side and definitely not at those crazily blue eyes.

He took a deep breath and stared at her. "I like you. A lot, actually. For a long time...a really, really long time."

Scorpius watched the smooth skin around Rose's eyes crinkle as she smiled. "Well, that's good…" What? That's it? It was only a few words, but Scorpius felt like he had just given Rose his entire heart.

Merlin. He was done for. Maybe if he just stepped back slowly and Flooed away to the Manor...

"...because I absolutely fancy you to the moon and back."

Scorpius' eyes snapped back to Rose's face. He didn't know what to think because there was not a lot going on in his mind at the moment-it was wiped clean.

Stunned.

He grinned back stupidly as his vocal chords seemed to be immobilized.

"Rose? Rose, darling, would you help your Granddad with his Muggle computer? He broke it again." A deep voice grew closer until Rose and Scorpius both turned toward the door. A tall-intimidatingly tall-Ron Weasley stood in the doorway.

"Oh. Hello, there. Scorpius, is it?" Ron looked at him in a friendly-though still calculating-way.

Scorpius stepped back from the rooftops of Rose Weasley Fancies Me and back into his own body...But he was still floating. For her-for Rose.

Glad his mouth wasn't gaping, Scorpius somehow managed to find his voice. "Yes, sir. Very nice to meet you, Mr. Weasley."

He started to make his way to the door, only to find many other red- and black-haired adults in the room beyond as he shook Ron's hand. Normally, he would've gone into anaphylactic shock based on his nightmares during the last week of term...But there was something keeping him grounded and floating at the same time.

Scorpius smiled as he felt Rose's hand clasped in his. Ron started leading him to the door of the thousand Wotters, but Scorpius was fine, really. Better than he thought he'd be because now, he had someone to float with. And it felt perfect.


End file.
